The death of a vampire was an unfamiliar concept to Freden.

Could there be words more ill-fitting than immortality and death?

It was the fate of vampires, beings so powerful that no one had ever witnessed it until now.

Remia saw it.

The fact that she had also witnessed the death of the church's main enemy was something difficult for Freden to accept.

'But Priestess Remia would have no reason to lie to me.'

This matter was too serious to be dismissed as a mere joke.

Although Priestess Remia was speaking with a smile, she had dismissed others and explained it clearly only to him.

If one were to distinguish between truth and falsehood, it would surely be the former.

Freden's mind was turning.

The death of a vampire and the distortion of fate, though he didn't know what it meant, there was no need to think deeply about it.

Whatever happened, it was a great blessing for their church.

Though he was curious about why she specifically told him this.

He judged it would be beneficial not to try to fathom that intention.

That was the judgment District Bishop Freden made.

"I understand. Is there anything that I or my faithful servants need to do regarding this matter?"

"Hmm. No? Not particularly."

Remia's voice was full of cheerfulness, like someone who had no idea how much impact her words would cause.

"The main church will take action to handle this matter. District Bishop Freden, you just need to continue as usual."

Those words left Freden slightly perplexed.

If that was the case, why tell him such crucial information?

Was it merely a moment's choice for amusement, or were there other hidden intentions cunningly concealed?

While Freden was thinking this to himself, Remia's eyes sparkled behind her tiara.

'Hehe. He's thinking hard about it.'

She fully understood that Freden's state of mind was complex.

How surprised she herself had been when she saw that fate.

It was surprising enough that such a monster was quietly residing in this city, but she had witnessed the death of a being that had been unkillable until now.

Priest Remia changed her thoughts there.

What had changed its fate was no longer important.

What captured Remia's attention more strongly was the scene she had witnessed.

The moment she saw that scene, she thought nothing else mattered.

Because it was.

It was just so.

'Magnificent.'

Though Remia maintained her bright smiling face, inside she was a mess of rising expectations, excitement, and ecstasy.

She had only seen a fragment, just a glimpse of part of the scene.

Even though she had only directly viewed a vague sight, her eyes ached as if they would tear.

Still, it was worth seeing.

In the scene where that vampire's death existed, she clearly saw the massive black hole torn in the sky.

It was not something that would suck in everything in the world but a 'gate' that existed to spew out some other enormous something.

* * *

"How was it for you, brother? I heard there was something happening in the Kingdom of Seville."

"Dark mages had secretly infiltrated. They were quite substantial ones. They had formed their own school of magic, after all."

"That's quite a force then. Did you fight them?"

"I only helped a little, someone else did the proper fighting. That's not what's important though."

"What's important would be why those dark mages flowed all the way there, the cause of it."

"Did you look into it?"

"As it happens, rumors have been flying around here lately. They say there's been a massive shake-up in dark mage organizations in Isla Machina recently."

"From what I hear, completely new ones appeared and swept through the surrounding area."

"That's right. Schools with quite a legacy crumbled helplessly, and many dark mages were killed or absorbed. What's even more surprising is that despite all this happening, who they are still isn't properly known."

Hans stroked his chin and glanced at Rudger's reaction.

"Perhaps, brother, do you know something?"

Rudger silently nodded.

"...I have a bad feeling about this, don't tell me it's involved with them again."

"The 'them' you're thinking of is probably correct."

"Damn it. The Black Dawn Society again?"

For Hans, the Black Dawn Society evoked quite complex emotions.

If he had to say, they were more like troublesome fellows.

Part of his hardships were because of the Black Dawn Society, and most recently, he had even fought with First Order Ventmin.

"The Night of Mystery in the Elf Kingdom, and now Isla Machina? I don't even know where they're not involved anymore. And there's been another strange movement detected recently."

"What else is there?"

That there was something else besides Isla Machina was news even to Rudger.

"...As it happens, Pantos has been away from his post recently."

"Pantos? That's unexpected."

Unless something significant happened, Pantos was the type to just stay in his place, repeating meditation and training.

The fact that he left his post meant he had gone quite far.

"Where did he say he was going?"

"He said he was returning to his homeland where his clan is, to gain his final enlightenment."

"If it's Pantos' homeland...the southern continent?"

This applies not just to Pantos, but to all beast-folk.

Most beast-folk live in the vast plains and mountainous regions that exist in the southern part of the continent.

The beast-folk are divided into countless tribes, and now form a single union under the command of the Great Chief.

Originally, beast-folk were free-spirited and warlike.

Before the union, the beast-folk were split into hundreds and thousands of divisions, fighting battles like wars every day.

However, something happened that forced the beast-folk to unite, and that was the racial war.

The beast-folk were helplessly swept away by the human military forces that had developed through the development of guns and gunpowder.

If they had joined forces and fought as one, they might have managed to hold out somehow, but the situation of just fighting while divided made the impact even greater.

While elves and dwarves had their own decent defenses, the beast-folk took quite a heavy blow because of this.

After the war ended, the beast-folk extensively joined hands to form a union, elected a Great Chief, and established themselves as one powerful force.

Ironically, human greed greatly helped in uniting the beast-folk.

"But what is Pantos trying to do there? He would have no reason to visit the tribal union."

However, Pantos was a bit different.

Although the beast-folk formed a union and created a large tribal society, there were still many beast-folk who didn't belong to it.

Those who still couldn't give up their wild nature and believed that fighting and struggle were the only way of life.

Called outsiders among the beast-folk, they lived divided into their own forces.

And Pantos was also one of these outsider origins.

'For someone like that to seek out the union, what could he be thinking?'

Hans seemed to have the same thought as Rudger as he crossed his arms and nodded.

"Well, I understand that reaction. After all, Pantos is quite the extraordinary being. Aren't you worried he might be going to pick a fight with the union?"

"That can't be denied."

Though Pantos is the quiet type, he harbors a beast more ferocious than anyone else in his heart.

He's just suppressing it with his superhuman patience.

Once it's released, there's no telling where it might rampage.

That's why Pantos suppressed that wild nature through hunting.

He wandered throughout the continent looking for beings stronger than himself, walls that seemed impossible to overcome.

Overcoming even the beast-folk's weakness of disliking water, his eccentric behavior included hunting whales with harpoons at sea.

"He has been noticeably restless lately."

After the fight with Luther Wardot, Pantos' talent fully bloomed.

His talent was outstanding before, but this time was different.

He succeeded in completely absorbing the insight gained from fighting those far stronger than himself.

However, a realm achieved only through mental understanding is incomplete.

To make it complete, one final piece was needed.

That could be another mindset, or it could be a life-or-death battle.

Pantos' heading to the beast-folk union was probably to find that final piece.

"If he gets stronger there, that's fine in its own way."

"Well, as long as he doesn't make too big of an incident, it's fine...but that's not the only reason I brought this up."

"What else is there?"

"Among the students taking your classes, isn't there a youngster called Aidan or something?"

"There is."

Why would that name suddenly come up here?

Rudger had a suspicion.

"...Where is that kid now?"

"In this situation, why would that name come up? There's that beast-folk friend who goes around with him."

"Iona O'Valley."

"Right. That was the name. Do you know who that beast-folk girl is?"

"The bloodline of the current beast-folk union's Great Chief."

Having said that much, Rudger understood by himself.

"...The timing of the kid going to the tribe with his friends just as Pantos heads there too. The timing is quite coincidental."

"But that's not the only problem."

What else could there be?

Rudger slightly raised his eyebrow.

Hans broke out in a cold sweat despite not having committed any crime.

"Recently there's been trouble in Isla Machina because of the Black Dawn Society, right?"

"Ah yes. That's right. You mentioned there was another strange movement detected recently?"

"That place...is the land where the beast-folk reside. Still an unexplored region for humanity."

"...Are you saying the Black Dawn Society is moving there too?"

"Well, what we've confirmed is that's correct. Since there are quite a few mercenaries who jump in just looking at money in unexplored regions, various rumors circulate there. And recently, several incidents have been occurring in the vicinity. They say disappearance cases have increased a lot."

"Aren't disappearance cases common in unexplored regions?"

Unexplored regions are full of dangerous cryptids in the wild because industrialized cities haven't been established.

Moreover, it's also the territory of the beast-folk.

The beast-folk, who suffered the greatest damage in the racial war, are very hostile to humans, and outsiders in particular are notorious for killing humans regardless of age or gender.

If mercenaries die after encountering an outsider beast-folk while exploring remote areas, they 'process it as a disappearance.'

It's hard to find the corpse, and it's a choice made to avoid creating conflict with the beast-folk.

Hans shook his head at those words.

"Even taking that into account, it's been unusually high recently. Moreover, it's not just explorers and mercenaries who've been affected."

"Then?"

"Nearby beast-folk tribes have also had quite an increase in missing persons. Mercenaries who've built some rapport with them have testified unanimously. So the beast-folk are also desperately searching for the culprit, but they think it's human doing, so the atmosphere is hostile."

"You saw traces of the Black Dawn Society there."

"Anyone can see they're trying to drive a wedge between the two sides while taking advantage for themselves. Though the information isn't complete yet, I'm certain there must be a Black Dawn Society hideout somewhere nearby."

Hans' voice carried strong conviction.

"Moreover, the size of this operation isn't something an ordinary Second Order could pull off. The fact that it's still quiet despite operating on this scale means that at minimum, a First Order of the Black Dawn Society must be involved, in my judgment."

"If what you say is true, a First Order would be right for handling an operation of that scale."

"Do you have any idea who it might be?"

"I think I know. After all, quite a few First Order positions are vacant in the Black Dawn Society now."

Three of the existing First Orders had died: Esmeralda, Ventmin and Leslie.

Though it's said Helia took one of those vacant positions, the power vacuum isn't easily filled.

Among the First Orders, Nikolai is in Isla Machina.

And the Black Knight Verom was helping Nikolai's work in Isla Machina.

If we're talking about remaining First Orders, there was only one.

"Victor Dreadful."

The mad scientist with a strange laugh, a villain who conducts cruel experiments everywhere, starting from Leathervelk.

And among the First Orders, the one who needs to be watched most carefully because he's the most unpredictable.

He's definitely involved in what's happening in the beast-folk lands.

"This is getting bigger than expected."

"What will you do?"

"If possible, I'd like to handle it directly, but sadly, I have many things I need to do right now."

"Well, that's true."

"Instead of me, I can send someone else."

Pantos is already there, but there are many areas lacking for handling things alone.

In this situation, someone is needed to fill Pantos' vacant role.

"Send Seridan to join up with Pantos."

Though Seridan seems like an indiscriminate explosion maniac, she's actually one of the more quick-witted members.

Her intelligence was clearly evident in her ability to handle mechanical engineering and take apart and fix all sorts of things.

Moreover, if the opponent is Victor Dreadful.

From the automatons he controls to liquid golems.

Considering the compatibility, it wasn't bad since Seridan could analyze everything.

"She should be able to fulfill her role sufficiently."